1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to improvements in energy and steel recovery systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a system for recovering energy and steel through volatizing and liberation of the fixed carbon from the steel in tires while held in suspension in a slipstream of a high energy user. This invention allows an efficient use of the potential energy held in waste materials, preferably solids such as whole vehicle tires, and also other waste materials in bulk or crushed form, such as waste plastics and paper, to reduce fuel consumption expenses in large capacity boiler systems.
2. Related Art
Alternative waste derived fuels have been operably disposed within a pyrolysis or combustion chamber or a riser duct. The use of such waste products is a function of the burning environment, for example, the amount of heat required and oxygen content within the chamber or kiln. Tires are currently being made use of as alternative fuels to reduce usage of traditional fuels. Tires have been found to be highly suitable. In co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/850,148, there is disclosed a process to inject tires into a column that was located next to a utility steam generator and combust them in a slipstream of gas drawn from the boiler. Tires, while being suspended in the gas stream by a number of forks that would methodically retract, would combust as they progress down the inside of the column, counter current to the gas stream. The heat generated by the tire would then be recovered in the boiler and the steel and any ash would be removed at the bottom of the column for ultimate recycling or disposal. Prior systems use combustion of tires fail to fully recover energy to reuse tire resources.
There remains a need to improve such technology to provide a highly efficient, easily operated, low cost, system for using such fuels.